The Milton football team had the most significant victory of any Class 5A team last weekend when it defeated Class 6A Buford 13-10 in a matchup of top-ranked teams.
Milton, the champion in Class 7A last season and current No. 1 team in 5A, built a 13-0 lead in the third quarter and held on, although Buford never seriously threatened to take the lead down the stretch. Quarterback Luke Nickel, a consensus four-star recruit who has committed to Miami, was 13-of-20 passing for 167 yards and a 17-yard touchdown to C.J. Wiley (four-star, Florida State). T.J. Lester ran for 95 yards and a touchdown, and the Eagles held Buford to 201 total yards.
Milton might have staked its claim to being the best team in Georgia regardless of classification, but the road ahead won’t be an easy one.
The Eagles traditionally take on a challenging non-region schedule, and that’s the case again this year as they face American Heritage (Fla.), which is ranked in the top 20 in at least four national polls, along with Alpharetta and Blessed Trinity before heading into the difficult Region 7-5A slate.
“Going into next week we’re going to have to put in a lot of work just to be better,” Nickel told Adam Krohn, who covered the Buford game for the AJC. “Our offense needs to take the next step, and I know we can. I know what kind of offense we can be.”
There’s a deep pool of legitimate championship contenders that includes reigning state champions Thomas County Central and Coffee. Here’s a look at the impressive performances turned in by some of those challengers last week:
*No. 2 Gainesville scored on its four third-quarter possessions, after a weather delay of more than an hour and a half, and pulled away for a 41-3 victory over Class 6A Marietta. Carmelo Byrd rushed for 128 yards on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns.
*No. 3 Lee County rushed for 332 yards in a 45-28 victory over then-No. 9 Warner Robins of Class 4A. Ousmane Kromah had 139 yards rushing. The Trojans have won 15 consecutive season-opening games, with seven of the wins coming against ranked opponents.
*No. 4 Thomas County Central, the Class 6A champion last year, led 31-0 in the first quarter and went on to a 54-7 victory over Monroe. Christian Lawrence rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown. The Yellow Jackets put up 349 yards on just 29 plays.
*No. 5 Hughes had three 100-yard rushers – Carsyn Baker (144), Qwantavius Wiggins (141) and Jabari Jones (116 ) – in a 52-21 victory over rival Westlake, which was ranked No. 9 in Class 6A. Christian Langford passed for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
*No. 6 Coffee, the champion in Class 5A last season, ran for 303 yards and passed for 181 in a 59-6 victory over then-No. 5 Bainbridge of Class 3A. It was Bainbridge’s most-lopsided defeat since losing to Colquitt County 55-0 in 1980.
*No. 10 Houston County scored on seven consecutive possessions at one point and dominated Alpharetta 57-10. Antwann Hill passed for 357 yards and three touchdowns, and Isaiah Mitchell had 166 receiving yards and threw a 67-yard touchdown pass.
That’s not to discount the three other members of the Class 5A top 10 that didn’t get their best chance to shine in the first week. No. 7 Woodward Academy lost to Class 6A No. 2 Carrollton 24-14. No. 8 Rome’s game against Creekside was canceled because of injuries Rome sustained in a bus crash on Aug. 8. No. 9 Roswell won a defensive battle against Class 6A Peachtree Ridge.
